I did it my way

I love Pinterest, not only for all the ideas and information but also to help clearly see what your personal style is. However, I have been frustrated that when you make a board, you can’t move the actual pins around to group things, like you can move boards around in your profile area. Where there is a will there is away.

I decided to experiment with a board – My Dream Home and environment. The idea was to have a virtual walk through – from the approach, through the front door (it was hard to choose from all the magnificent doors in my door’s board), through the house into the garden and eventually to my garden cottage studio – dream away!

How?

Simple Really …

First I created to boards and kept them secret rather than public. The first one I used as a gash board to collect all the elements I want for my dream house – a source board from which I could pin in the order I want. When I completed that, I started to pin what I wanted to be my last pin on the board and worked my way back to what I wanted to be the first pin.

When finally I was happy with the board, I went to edit the board and changed it from secret to public and pinned what I planneed to be the first pin while it was visible as an invitation.

I live in the heart of the Fynbos floral kingdom. The Cape Floral Kingdom is the smallest of the six Floral Kingdoms in the world, and is the only one contained in its entirety within a single country. The Cape Floral Kingdom compares with some of the richest floras worldwide, surpassing many tropical forest regions in its floral diversity.

No wonder their beauty are an inspiration to so many artists Here are some of my favourites

This beautiful graphic Pincushion (Leucospermum)design is from Skinny Laminx based in Cape Town

Braids or plaits have been making a big comeback on and off the red carpet for the last few years. Braids have of course been around across centuries, continents, and genders; from side braids to milkmaid braids, French, waterfall, fishtails, coils, buns and chignons. Their versatility allows incredible complex styles with endless possibilities. They can also work on most lengths of hair. They’re also functional, keeping us cool and unencumbered.

As my hair is below waist length, I started having fun playing with braids.

Here are some of my favourites; some are beautiful yet easy, while others serves as elaborate inspirations.

Godey’s Lady’s Book, May 1866

Greek Coiffure – 1866

The coiffure requires no frisettes, and is both simple and elegant. The back hair is tied rather high, and as tightly as possible; it is then divided into two equal portions, which are both plaited. The first is arranged into two loops: the second forms the third loop, and is then twisted round the chignon and fastened underneath. The front hair is disposed in waved bandeaux; if the hair is not sufficiently long and thick to form the plaited coronet with the end of the bandeaux, a false plaite is added and fastened under the chignon. (Image and text from Koshka-the-cat.)

If you want to recreate this Viking hairstyle you have to start by making a regular pigtail with the hair from the top of the head. At the hairline on the back of the neck you braid the rest of the hair into the braid which is then divided into seven parts. You braid these together two, two and three. At the end the pigtail is divided into two twisted pigtails. You can read more about it from the Tollund Man.

An elegant hairstyle with a braided headband; the style mimics the hair seen in portraits and modern film depictions of Regency Era ladies.

The intricate hairstyles of the caryatids on the Erechtheion temple in Athens were recreated. From an article by ArtNews.

Roman Hair Styles

Janet Stephen’s tutorials on Roman hair styles is a must-see for anyone interested in elaborate braiding styles or just for the sake of interest. They are full of tips and ideas. It is actually not as difficult as it looks, though an extra pair of hands is necessary for most of the styles.

One of my favourite pieces from my collection of fashion history is a bow tie from AK & CO still in its packaging. What’s really great about it is that it has instructions on how to tie a bow tie in a mirror.

“To its devotees the bow tie suggests iconoclasm of an Old World sort, a fusty adherence to a contrarian point of view. The bow tie hints at intellectualism, real or feigned, and sometimes suggests technical acumen, perhaps because it is so hard to tie. Bow ties are worn by magicians, country doctors, lawyers and professors and by people hoping to look like the above. But perhaps most of all, wearing a bow tie is a way of broadcasting an aggressive lack of concern for what other people think.”

Prince Charles joked that he had become a fashion icon simply by dressing the same as he always had. That’s how trends work: they come around in long cycles that make the old new again every other generation.But where did bow ties actually come from? Here’s a great video giving a history of bow ties.

Bow ties are cool again and no doubt Dr Who is largely responsible for this. For others like me who are curious as to why Dr Who wears a bow tie here’s a great clip from an interview on SFX’s, where Matt Smith, costume designer Ray Holman and producer Piers Wenger talk to Nick Setchfield about the evolution and design of Doctor Eleven’s sartorial style. And yes, the bow tie was Matt’s idea…

The Doctor

Ray Holman:“We had to go through tons and tons of clothes. I think I took hundreds of photographs of Matt with different ideas, and in the end it all came down to a day when we were all in the room together. We had certain elements of the costume – we knew we wanted boots, we had the trousers, the shirt, there were a couple of different coats and jackets. The tweed jacket went on him and we thought, ‘That’s it!’ And then we didn’t know if it was going to be a T-shirt, if it was going to be open-necked or if it was going to be a tie. Matt said, ‘Can I try a bow tie?’ And we all went, ‘Ugh, no, not sure!’ We got a bow tie. I actually put it on Matt’s neck and said, ‘I’m sorry about this, but let’s have a go.’ I put it on him, stepped back, and we just went, ‘Wow!’ It was a really tingly moment when we knew we had it.”

Before Matt Smith, bow ties weren’t just a statement of taste. They also spoke to a conservative rebellion against vulgarian culture: a refusal to be blandly egalitarian. They’re jolly difficult to tie, which means that the effort to put one on adds a degree of philosophy to the dressing process. There’s a Taoism to bow tie wearing: one has to be in the right mind to put one on and carry it off. That requires a close shave, a clean shirt, well managed hair, shiny shoes and a jacket carefully chosen to give prominence to the tie. Throw one on haphazardly and you’ll look like an urbane tramp. – By Tim Stanley for The Telegraph

From House of Dara

From The simple solution to expert witness credibility

But not just men can wear bow ties with style …

1943

Karl Lagerfeld

Image from Sophie Mae Style

Image from House of Dara

Love this idea for an alternative way of wearing a bow tie (Click on image for source)

I am sure most of you heard the saying; A gentleman is a man who uses a butter knife even when he is alone.

After finding that wonderful crochet book, my head was spinning with ideas and possibilities, but then a little voice inside me said, ” Not to rain on your parade, but you can’t uhm … actually crochet.” I have been so busy over the years making stuff that I have “forgotten” that I haven’t taken the time to learn to crochet. But since I now have all these ideas it was a good time to start.

Ah, the wonders of the internet and bless Donna from Naztazia. She has two wonderful videos to teach you all you need to know to start crochet.

Part 2

After watching the two videos, I was hooked. Luckily I already have a full set of crochet hooks, inherited from my granny and mum and yarn from my other projects so, there was nothing to stop me. I started by just freestyle crochet, choosing I yarn I liked and then see where it took me. Focusing on patterns, counting stitches and figuring out the abbreviations was just too much while I was getting into the swing of holding the yarn and mastering the basic stitches.

My first piece a heart bracelet, made from cotton twine. Ok, it did not start as a bracelet and the happy mistake became a button hole but it was fun. I learnt all about crochet in a straight line, the turning chain and how to hold a crochet hook.

The only extra I learnt was how to crochet a simple heart from my Valentine’s Post.

So, now I was ready to tackle a pattern and my first choice were these great Mary Jane slippers from Goodknits.

Mary Jane Slipper tutorial from Goodknits

But I was so enjoying the project and curious to see what will happen if I just continued the edging that instead of Mary Jane slippers I made slipper booties. I also added a felt sole and an extra edging because I know the edges always wear out.